2000 Pontiac Grand Am from North America - Comments

My front rotors keep WARPING, started at 350 miles and still going.

A lot of car for the money if they can get the braking system fixed.

I am the owner of 2000 Grand Am SE2 (6 cylinder).

It was the car of my dreams until I hit about 7,000 miles and felt the front end pulsating as I applied the brakes. I took it into the dealer and the rotors were "out of round" so they turned them. That temporarily fixed the problem for another 3,000 and then the pulsating front end reappeared when I applied the brakes. I took it back to the dealer and they replaced the rotors (supposedly). That seemed to last about 10,000 and the pulsating came back for a 3rd time. I was furious at this time, but I'm not one to cause a scene, so I took it back to the dealer and my rotors were out of round again!! This time I had to replace the brake pads as well as have the rotors turned.

Now, it seems that everyone I know who has a 1999 or 2000 Grand Am has also been having brake/rotor problems. That's why I searched around and found this website! I would love to hear from others who've had success with the correction of this braking problem.

Thanks,

Sherri/St Louis, mo.

I have had the same problems with the warped rotors. Replaced at 12k miles. and then at 28 K they were warped again and I cannot get them replaced under warranty anymore (according to the 2 dealerships I have gone to.) They tell me it will cost $600 to replace. I am going to buy the Power Slot rotors and new pads for about $250. If anyone is curious how they work out, email me; probus@disposable.com.

I HAVE purchased and installed Power Slot rotors and Performance pads. Still have same grinding noise???

I have a 1999 Grand Am SE 2, 6 cylinder, and have 22,400 miles on it..

The tie rod, rotors and brake pads were replaced under warranty at only 13,000 miles. Due to a "factory defect" with the tie rod. Now the brakes are very loose and I have to press to the floor to get them to lock up.. the dealership told me I now need new brake pads and rear brake adjustment.. and they just replaced the brake pads and rotors 9,000 miles ago! Is this going to continue for the life of the car? If so I'm bailing out when my lease ends in May...

I purchased a 2000 Grand Am Gt in May of 2000 and since then I have had problems with the entire front end. I had to take the car back to the deal after 10000 miles because the brake pad fell apart. They told me it was defective. Also I have had the rotors evened out already and the pad changes. I just took to the shop and I had to get the tie rods replaced because they broke. It is a great car, but they need to put a recall out on the braking system. It is terrible.

There is a way to over come the pulsation problems experienced. Get your dealer to use the procedure outlined in GM technical bulletin 00-05-23-002A. It describes the use of a "Brake Align" shim which will eliminate the cause of the pulsation.

The issue is the rotor does not run true on the car. There is a slight "out of parallel" lateral runout condition which can be measured and corrected by using the Brake Align shim. When the lateral runout is reduced to under.0015" (15/10,000th of an inch) the problem of brake pulsation will be repaired.

I also have had brake problems on my 2000 SE2. I have 57,000 miles on it and have replaced the brakes 4 times and the rotors twice. I have recently discovered a new "problem". Three of the five studs on the right front wheel have broken off! I have had a dealer do all of the work to date. After they inspected the studs, they told me that this is not the first time they have seen this problem "but is doesn't appear to be something worthy of a recall". I love the car, but I don't know if I will get another one after all of these problems or not.

December 30, 2002.

I have a 2000 Grand Am Sport and Loved the car when I bought it. However since buying the car I have had the rotors resurfaced twice and have had the brakes and rotors completely replaced twice. The car only has 51,000 miles. Now it looks as though I will have to have the "car surgery" again. This is getting very pricey. The dealers have acted as though it's a common problem and have even said "I have seen this before". WHAT CAN YOU DO... I have continuously checked the NHTSA website for recalls and defect info and always nothing on this very common problem.

I own a 2000 grand am se v-6 and have had nothing but trouble. my trouble started at 3000 miles with new rotors and brakes. there is a grinding noise in the front end the dealer ship can't seem to locate the problem. my car now has 42,000 miles and I have replaced the rotors, brakes twice, fuel gauge indicatior, spark plug wires and spark plugs, ingine coil, and now I was told yesterday the front wheel bearing/hub assembly in my front needs replaced. the service depatment says its unusual to have to replace both, but I am not surprised with all of the other problems. I suggest not considering buying from gm/ponitac because they do not back their product. 3000 to 42,000 I have had nothing but problems.

I have a 2001 Grand Am with 27,000 miles. Just started hearing a grinding noise in the front brakes. Took it to a garage and they said I needed new brake pads. New brake pads were installed and rotors turned. Grinding noise is still there. I then found all these letters from disgruntled Grand Am owners with the same problem and it seems that Pontiac isn't concerned. I am getting an appointment with a Pontiac dealer in Lafayette, Indiana to see if they will fix this problem. I will let everyone know how my experience turns out. If anyone can help, please email me at windler@localline.com. I am willing to fight this to the top so let me know who wants to join in to cure this problem.

1999 Grand Am owner who also has had brake problems. I have taken my vehicle not only to the dealer, but also a trusting auto shop. They have turned my rotors twice now, going on three times. The dealer told me that I needed new brakes and rotors, I didn't, just had warped rotors that were fixed by turning. The warping continues due to a defect in the braking assembly which as everyone else had noted, is not recalled. The car has now, 50,000 miles and leaking coolant from the bad water pump motor. Just a month ago, I took the car in for missing coolant. Turns out that the coolant was leaking into the motor intake and mixing with the oil. My warranty was up at 36,000 but the dealer paid half because I complained of the problem prior to the expiration of the warranty. I love the car, but can't really afford the problems I am starting to have, Other problems have been:

windshield not sealed properly,

latch on console not latching,

moldings not fitted properly (foam showing),

missing bulb in headlight and now the light is misaligned,

leather door panels bulging and coming away from door during hot months,

rubber seals around doors coming off,

radio power knob not working,

ticking noise in motor,

loud noise in heater fan,

needed new tires at 30,000,

need I go on?

I own a 1999 Grand Am. Although I love the car, I also have had many problems with it. Has anyone else noticed that this car is very expensive to fix??

The intake gasket went around 70,000 miles, now my lifters tick. I had to replace the bearings in the front. My alternator and battery died. I had a tie-rod break. The power steering pump has gone twice.

As far as break trouble, my calipers stick and do not retract the pistons. So I go through pads very fast. I have no pulsating though. My rotors are worn down and I am about to replace them. Although after reading this page, I will make sure they know about the Brake Align shim and the pulsating issue.

Thanks!

I have a 01 Grand Am GT1. I fell in love with it when they changed the style in 99. I have 106xxx miles on it. Yes 106xxx, I drive 100 miles a day to work.

I have never had as much problems with a car as I have had with this one. Started from day 3 of bringing car home. Should have been a clue... All lights for brake problems came on. When car was turned off it would reset itself. I took to dealership twice because the light would not come on for them, therefore could not determine the cause. Anyway it was a bad chip in the computer. Head gasket leak, fuel gauge indicator, back doors squeak, false reading so the service indicator light keeps coming on, when I did have the extended warranty it would not pay for it so that cost me $95.00 each time. ABS light comes on then goes off. Water pump went out. LCD mileage display comes and goes. They fixed it once, but didn't last and now of course I'm out of warranty so I just deal with it. When I had the dealership change my brakes 3 months later that's when the pulsating started. I would recommend the brake shim. I have put another 40xxx on car before it started again. There is a couple of other things that have gone wrong I just cannot remember what they were. I have to take the car in every 5-6 months for something.

First off I have had my fair share of problems on my 2001 Grand Am SE, but not to the extent of the other people on here so I guess I feel kind of lucky. Anyway I've had the wires replaced twice within a couple of weeks from each other and I'm on my second set of brake rotors. I'm an anal retentive "backyard mechanic" who loves to keep his car in super top condition, but for the life of me cannot find where the "tick tick tick" is coming from at the front of the motor. Another issue is when the tachometer hits exactly 2500 rpm's the motor begins to miss and vibrate pretty badly. The car now has 42,000 miles on it, the second set of rotors pulsates worse than the original set ever did, but that's alright because thanks to you folks here I now know of the shim fix. I'm also aware of the grinding sound, but I haven't had a chance to dig into the front wheel spindle to see if the bearings are greased properly and free of damage. I'm also looking into the possibility of the outer edge of the brake pads maybe rubbing on the extruding outer edge of the rotor. Hopefully I'll find the grinding noise, but if anyone might know of the ticking sound from the motor feel free to email with your comments to "hardtail731@msn.com". Thanks!! Paul.

Hi Guys. I have a 2000 Grand Am GT and am having the EXACT same problems with the brakes. Quick Note, I bought the Power Slot Rotors and special performance ceramic brake pads only to find that it fixes the problem for about 2 months. I am looking at changing the brake pads & rotors for the third time. I have 51000 miles on the car, there's no reason this should be happening. Thanks for that bit of info about the shims. I hope it works. I've also had problems with the front wheel bearings, which were replaced by Pontiac under warranty (extended) My sunroof was leaking water when it rained hard. Just about everything else mentioned by you guys also happened. I don't know, at one time I thought this was a good car. I still have 22 months left on the finance and I'm hoping to get out of it before the term is up. My e-mail is goodfellawiseguy@msn.com I'd love to keep in touch with some of you guys just to see if we all can come up with a way to solve this stupid problem. Maybe we all should get together and file a class action lawsuit against Pontiac so they might actually listen to our complaints!!! Take care and good luck with solving your "brake woes" Joey.